Apparatus for covering a playing field



Oct. 24, 1961 R. ARGANBRIGHT APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 50, 1958 VII/4 INVENTOR. RAY ARGANBRIGHT BY O 24, 1961 R. ARGANBRIGHT 3,005,461

APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD Filed 001.. 30, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RAY ARGA NBRIGHT aMM/W Oct. 24, 1961 R. ARGANBRIGHT APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 30, 1958 INVENTOR. RAY ARGA NBRIGHT Oct; 24, 1961 R. ARGANBRIGHT 3,005,461

APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD Filed Oct. 30, 1958 e Sheets-Sheet 4 34 ML 1 1 3e /23 1" INVENTOR. RAY ARGANBRIGHT W/RM Oct. 24, 1961 R. ARGANBRIGHT APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 50, 1958 L 0 0T N mm m mm mm W a;

INVENTOR. RAY ARGANBRIGHT Oct. 24, 1961 R. ARGANBRIGHT 3,005,461

APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD Filed Oct. 30, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. RAY ARGANBRIGHT 3,005,461 APPARATUS FOR COVERING A PLAYING FIELD Ray Arganbright, 1462 Wyantlotte Road, Columbus, Ohio Filed Oct. 30, 1958, 'Ser. No. 770,685 7 Claims. (Cl. 135-5) My invention relates to mobile apparatus for covering and protecting an athletic playing field or the like from weather elements and its main object is to provide improved apparatus of this type which may be operated to cover and uncover a playing field quickly and with facility.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus in the form of a vehicle which may be moved onto the playing field to cover it and which may be removed from the playing field and stored on the adjacent grounds when it is not in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved structure whereby the foregoing objects may be carried out.

In carrying out the foregoing objects, it is another object of the invention to provide a device which requires only one person to operate it.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus of the type set forth in the foregoing objects which includes a vehicle, preferably, but not necessarily, of the automotive type, which carries the operating elements for the protecting cover mechanism and which may form the prime mover or source of power for operating the apparatus of the covering mechanism.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is clearly shown.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a mobile apparatus for covering and protecting a playing field, the apparatus including an automotive vehicle provided with a mast which carries pivotally mounted telescoping booms which in turn carry a field cover means;

FIG. 2 is a view in plan of the apparatus seen in FIG. 1, the view showing the apparatus with its booms extended to stretch the cover means over a playing field;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the apparatus superimposed over the diamond of a baseball playing field;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a diiferent mechanism for supporting and operating the boom mechanism of the apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a view of the mast and one boom of the apparatus seen in FIG. 4, the view illustrating the mode of operation of the booms and their operating means;

FIG. 6 is another diagrammatic view illustrating a different form of mechanism for carrying out the invention which includes a vehicle that may be towed to and from the position in which the device is to be used; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a still another form of mechanism for carrying out the invention, this form differing from that shown in FIG. 6 principally in that its booms are formed by telescoping hydraulic cylinder means.

In the past, various proposals have been made to provide mechanisms for covering and protecting athletic playing fields from elements of the weather but none of these proposals have met with success and it is still the general practice in this art to protect the playing fields from elements of the weather by employing a number of men to unroll a number of tarpaulins over the playing fields. This old method of manually unrolling tarpaulins over a playing field has obvious disadvantages among which ice 2 are the amount of time required to perform the operation of covering the playing field; the number of men required to perform the operation, and the problem of handling and storing the tarpaulins when they are not being employed as field cover means.

The invention disclosed and claimed herein obviates most of the disadvantages of the presently used method as well as those of the known prior art devices and, with reference to that embodiment of the apparatus seen in FIG. 1 which includes the invention, the mechanism there illustrated includes an automotive vehicle 20, illustrated as a well known Jeep, which carries a mast 21 in the form of a large reciprocating type hydraulic motor or ram having a body 22 in the form of a cylinder in which there is a ram or piston 23. Motors or rams of this type are well known and therefore a detailed description of one of them is unnecessary here.

The body 22 of mast 21 is provided with eight pairs of brackets 24 which extend radially therefrom in a plane spaced above the top of the vehicle 20 and each pair of these brackets 24 pivotally carries the inner end of one of eight extensible booms 25. Each boom 25 includes an inner element or portion 26 which is pivotally connected between the legs of one of the brackets 24 by a pivot pin 27 and an outer element or portion 28 which is attached to the outer end of the inner boom element 26 by a knuckle joint including a pivot pin 29. The piston or ram 23 of the mast 21 is provided at its top with eight radially extending arms 30, one for each extensible boom 25, and each of these arms is connected by a cable 31 to an upstanding bracket 32 on each of the booms 25.

From the description thus far given, it will be seen that when the ram or piston 23 of the mast is moved upwardly that the extensible booms 25 will be swung to substantially vertical positions and that as the ram or piston 23 is lowered or retracted into the body 22 that the inner elements or portions of the booms 25 will be swung by gravity outwardly from the mast 21. It will also be seen that as the inner portions 26 of the booms 25 swing outwardly and downwardly as above described that the outer elements or portions 28 thereof will tend to hang from the pivot pins 29 of the knuckle joints by which they are attached to the outer ends of the inner boom portions 26 substantially vertically and that their outer ends would thus come to rest upon the earth and prevent further downward swinging movement of the inner portions 26 of the booms 25. In order to prevent any such undesirable action on the part of the outer boom portions 28, each boom 25 is provided with a hydraulic ram or motor 33 for swinging the outer element or portion thereof outwardly as the latter approaches the earth.

The rams or motors 33 are illustrated in the drawings as being mounted upon the inner elements or portions 26 of the booms 25 and including rams or pistons which carry rollers 34 adapted to abut the outer boom elements or portions 28 adjacent the pivot pins 29. In operation, when the extensible booms are being lowered and extended, i.e., swung outwardly by the lowering of the mm or piston 23 of mast 21, the rams or motors 33 are operated to swing the outer elements or portions 28 outwardly about their supporting pivot pins 29. The outer end of each outer element or portion 28 is provided with a wheel 35 that is adapted to engage and roll over the ground as the boom of which it forms a part is lowered and extended. It will be seen that when the booms are being extended or retracted these wheels 35 eliminate the necessity of the mast 21 supporting the entire weight of the booms 25 while the'wheels 35 are in engagement with the ground. While I have illustrated rams or motors for swinging the outer portions 28 of the booms 25 outwardly, it is to be understood that any other apparatus may be employed which is capable of performing this function.

The booms 25 cooperate to support a field cover means 36 which may be formed of any material suitable for the purpose, and as illustrated, this field covering means is formed as a tarpaulin or sheet of canvas, which is attached to the booms 25 at strategic points and is provided with flaps 37 which cover the joints in the booms. The flaps 37 may be of canvas, metal or any other flexible or stiff material capable of covering the joints when the booms are extended. The center portion of the cover 36 is attached in a weatherproof fashion about the mast 21 by a drawband 38.

The apparatus for operating the hydraulic mast and motors 33 is carried by or it may form an integral part of the vehicle 2iiand it includes an electric motor 39 which receives electric current from batteries 40 also carried by the vehicle. Motor 39 drives a conventional hydraulic system contained within a housing 41 on the vehicle which is connected by suitable conduit means, not shown, to both the mast 21 and the motors 33. Since such hydraulic systems are Well known and since the hydraulic system per se forms no part of this invention, such system is not herein described in detail. It is important to note, however, that the controls for the hydraulic system, as well as the controls for the motor 39 which are preferably electric switches, are contained in a small portable control box 42 which may be positioned adjacent the periphery of the field cover 36 when the booms are extended in order that the apparatus may be operated from a position remote from the drivers seat of the vehicle. The control box 42 is connected to one end of a long cable attached at its other end to the vehicle and the control box 42 may be carried by the operator or driver of the vehicle to a position outside the periphery of the field cover 36.

When the device above described is to be employed to cover a playing field such as a baseball diamond, an operator will drive the vehicle 20 under its own power to and park it upon the pitchers mound thereof. He will then take the control box 42 to a position at one edge of the diamond and operate the controls therein to cause the booms 25 to extend in the manner previously described. He may then place the control box under the cover 36 to protect it from the weather. When the device is to be removed from the playing field, the operator will remove the control box 42 from under the cover 36, operate the controls therein to cause the booms 25 to retract and elevate and he will then place the control box 42 and its cable upon the vehicle and drive the vehicle from the field.

The device may, if desired, be equipped with a collapsible gutter or trough 43 which extends around the peripheral edge of the cover 36 to carry water which runs off of the latter to any suitable drain means through portable conduits, not shown, attached thereto at the outlets 4 2'.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the lengths of the booms 25 and the size of the cover 36 are such that the entire protected area of a baseball diamond lies under the cover 36 when the booms 25 are extended.

While I have described the use of one device to protect a baseball diamond, it is to be understood that it is within the concept of this invention to employ a number of such devices to cover larger playing fields, for example a football field, and when any such field is to be protected from snow and/or sleet that I may provide each vehicle with one or more heaters 45 for heating the space under the cover 36'for causing the snow or sleet to be melted from the field cover 36 as it falls thereupon.

In FIG. 4 of the drawings, I have shown a diiferent form of apparatus for supporting and handling a field cover 35. This device is identical to the device previously described .except that the brackets which support the inner ends of the booms 25 are formed upon a collar 46 which is slidable vertically along the body 22 of mast 21 by a plurality of hydraulic rams or motors '47 and the cables 31 which connect the radiating arms 30 on the mast ram or piston 23 have hydraulic rams or motors 48 interposed therein. By this mechanism the pivot points 27 may be lowered as the booms 25 are elevated and the motors 48 may be operated to cause the booms to assume a more upright position when the booms 25 are retracted as illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

FIG. 6 of the drawings illustrates still another form of apparatus for supporting and handling a field cover 36. In this apparatus, the mast and booms are carried upon a vehicle in the form of a trailer 50 which may be pulled about by an automotive vehicle, not shown. In this apparatus, the booms 25 are identical with the booms shown in FIG. 1 but their inner ends are formed as segments 51 of gears and they are carried pivotally upon the trailer 50 by pairs of upright arms or brackets 52 and pivot pins 53. In this embodiment of the device, a cylinder 54 surrounds the body of the mast and is moved upwardly and downwardly with respect thereto by the ram or piston of the mast. This cylinder 54 is provided with a plurality of gear racks 55, one for each gear segment 51, and when the cylinder 54 is raised, the booms 25 are, of course, extended and they are elevated or retracted when the cylinder 54 is lowered.

While not shown, it is to be understood that an operating mechanism identical to the batteries 40, motor 39, hydraulic system 41 and controls described in connection with the apparatus of FIG. 1 are employed to operate the device of FIG. 6. It will, of course, be seen that the embodiment of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings is less expensive to build and maintain than either of those of FIGS. 1 or 4 and that for this reason it may be preferred to the latter embodiments.

Still another form of mechanism is shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings which includes and carries out the features of the invention. This apparatus is identical to the apparatus seen in FIG. 6 of the drawings except that its booms 56 are in the form of telescoping hydraulic motors or rams. It will be seen that by the use of the hydraulic booms 56 the pivot joints in the booms of the other described embodiments are eliminated and that the rams can be collapsed to a shorter overall length thereby reducing the overall height of the vehicle when the booms are -retracted and elevated to the positions indicated in dotted lines in the drawing.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow:

I'claim:

1. A field covering apparatus movable onto and oif of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms carried by said vehicle, said booms being provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; power operated means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms, and a field covering means carried by said booms and being extended and retracted thereby to cover and uncover said field.

2. A field covering apparatus movable onto and off of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms carried by said vehicle, said booms being provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; power operated means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms; a field covering means carried by said booms and being extended and retracted thereby to cover and uncover said field, and control means for said power operated means, said control means being positionable adjacent a peripheral edge of said field covering means when the latter is extended to cover said field.

3. A field covering apparatus movable onto and ed of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; means pivotally mounting said booms upon said vehicle; means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms and to swing them upon said pivotal mounting means, and field covering means carried by said booms.

4. A field covering apparatus movable onto and off of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; means pivotally mounting said booms upon said vehicle; means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms and to swing them upon said pivotal mounting means, and field covering means carried by said booms, said field covering means extending and retracting with said booms as the latter are extended and retracted and folding and unfolding as said booms are swung about their pivotal mounting means.

5. A field covering apparatus movable onto and ofi of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; mast means on said vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; means on said mast means pivotally mounting said booms; means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms and to swing them upon said pivotal mounting means, and field covering means carried by said booms, said field covering means extending and retracting with said booms as the latter are extended and retracted.

6. A field covering apparatus movable onto and off of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; mast means on said vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms Provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; means on said mast means pivotally mounting said booms; means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms and to swing them upon said pivotal mounting means, and field covering means carried by said booms, said field covering means extending and retracting with said booms as the latter are extended and retracted and folding and unfolding as said booms are swung about their pivotal mounting means.

7. A field covering apparatus movable onto and off of a field for covering and protecting said field from weather elements, said apparatus comprising a vehicle; mast means on said vehicle; a plurality of extensible booms provided with ground engaging means adjacent their outer ends; means on said mast means pivotally mounting said booms; power operated means constructed and arranged to extend and retract said booms and to swing them upon said pivotal mounting means, field covering means carried by said booms, said field covering means extending and retracting with said booms as the latter are extended and retracted; and control means for said power operated means, said control means being positionable adjacent the peripheral edge of said cover means when the latter is extended to cover said field.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,063,199 Hedges et a1 June 3, 1913 1,208,097 Collins et al. Dec. 12, 1916 1,751,518 Mac Lean Mar. 25, 1930 2,820,515 Aarvold Jan. 21, 1958 

